Objective To investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics, prognosis and treatment strategies of adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 489 patients with AIS and MIA in our hospital from January 2007 to August 2015. There were 122 males and 367 females with an average age of 26–78 (51±9) years. According to the pathological types, they were divided into the AIS group (246 patients) and the MIA group (243 patients). In the AIS group, there were 60 males and 186 females with an average age of 50±7 years. In the MIA group, there were 62 males and 181 females with an average age of 54±5 years. The clinicopathological features, surgical methods and prognosis of the two groups were compared. Results There were significant differences in age, value of carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), nodule shape and nodule size between the AIS and MIA groups (P<0.05). AIS patients were mostly under the age of 60 years with the value of CEA in the normal range which often appeared as pure ground-glass opacity lung nodules <1 cm in diameter on the CT scan. MIA often appeared as mixed ground-glass nodules <1.5 cm in diameter, accompanied by bronchiectasis and pleural indentation. The 5-year disease-free survival rate of the AIS and MIA groups reached 100%, and there was no statistical difference in the prognosis between the two groups after subtotal lobectomy (pulmonary resection and wedge resection) and lobectomy, systematic lymph node dissection and mediastinal lymph node sampling. Conclusion The analysis of preoperative clinical and imaging features can predict the AIS and MIA and provide individualized surgery and postoperative treatment program.